Liquid crystal display device, portable terminal and display equipment provided with the liquid crystal display device

ABSTRACT

A segment electrode group  10  is passed through a lower side portion of a sealing resin  7  to be connected to a connection terminal group for segment electrode  8 . A connection terminal group for common electrode  6  is juxtaposed to the connection terminal group for segment electrode  8  along the lower side portion of the sealing resin  7 . The connection terminal group for common electrode  6  is connected to a wiring pattern  5  through the lower side portion of the sealing resin  7 . The wiring pattern  5  passes through an area between a right side portion of the sealing resin  7  and a display area  3  to be connected to a conduction portion between substrates Q 1 . The conduction portion between substrates Q 1  contains numerous conductive particles so as to electrically connect the wiring pattern  5  and a common electrode group  4  to each other. By this arrangement, downsizing of a liquid crystal display device can be accomplished.

This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/165,431, filed Jun. 6,2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,806,938, which application is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

This application is based on applications Nos. 2001-261510, 2001-298550,2001-352822, 2001-358717, 2001-361553, and 2001-378905 filed in Japan,the content of which is incorporated hereinto by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a small size liquid crystal displaydevice, a portable terminal and display equipment provided with such aliquid crystal display device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventional STN type liquid crystal displays P1 and P2 are nowdiscussed referring to FIGS. 47–52.

FIG. 47A is a plan view of the liquid crystal display P1. FIG. 47B is aright-side view of the same, and FIG. 47C is an upper-side view of thesame. The liquid crystal display P1 is arranged such that tworectangularly shaped glass substrates are joined together. There areprovided two driver ICs (not shown) one of which is for segmentelectrodes, and the other is for common electrodes. The driver ICs aredisposed along two sides of the glass substrate 1 external to therespective sides. When mounting the driver ICs on the body substrate,TCP (Tape Carrier Package) or COF (Chip on Film) is used. (Refer toJapanese Unexamined Patent Publication H08-179348.)

On the glass substrate 2, a group of transparent common electrodes 4 anda wiring pattern 5 with a trapezoidal shape which extends from thetransparent common electrode group 4 are provided. On the other glasssubstrate 1, there are provided a group of transparent segmentelectrodes 10, and a wiring pattern 9 with a trapezoidal shape whichextends from the transparent segment electrode group 10. The area wherethe transparent common electrode group 4 and the transparent segmentelectrode group 10 cross each other form a display area 3.

On edges of two sides of the glass substrate 1, there are providedcommon-side terminal group 6 connected with the wiring pattern 5, andsegment-side terminal group 8 connected with the wiring pattern 9. TCPsor COFs are mounted on the common-side terminal group 6 and segment-sideterminal group 8 by thermal pressure using an anisotropic conductivefilm.

A sealing resin 7 is provided external to the display area 3 so as tosurround the display area 3. The glass substrates 1 and 2 are bondedtogether with the sealing resin 7, and the internal space between themis filled with a liquid crystal 12 by injecting it through an injectioninlet 13. Then, it is sealed with a UV curable resin 11.

When the number of pixels is represented by m×n, since one pixel isconstituted of three kinds of colors i.e. R (red), G (green) and B(blue) in the colorized liquid crystal display device P, the number oftransparent segment electrodes 10 to be provided is 3m. The numbers ofwires in the wiring patterns 9 and segment-side terminals 8 are also 3m.The numbers of transparent common electrodes 4, wires in the wiringpattern 5 and common-side terminals 6 are n, respectively. These areshown with a part thereof omitted in the drawings.

FIG. 48 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line a—a in FIG. 47A.

The sealing resin 7 contains conductive particles 14. The common-sideterminal group 6 and the wiring pattern 5 are connected vertically bythe conductive particles 14. The portions connecting them vertically arereferred to as “conduction portions between substrates.”

On the transparent common electrode group 4, an alignment film 23 foraligning the liquid crystal 12 is formed. Also, an alignment film 24 isformed on the transparent segment electrode group 10. Between thealignment films 23 and 24, spacers 45 are dispersed in order to keep thegap S between the substrates at a constant distance.

In the above-mentioned liquid crystal display device P1, however, thearrangement is such that two driver ICs one of which is for segmentelectrodes and the other for common electrodes are mounted along andexternal to two sides of the assembly of two rectangularly shaped glasssubstrates bonded together. Accordingly, two driver ICs are required inthis structure.

Accordingly, it has been desired to integrate the functions of both ofthe driver ICs into one driver IC thereby reducing the IC cost and themounting cost.

A liquid crystal display device P2 provided with one driver IC preparedin the above-mentioned way is now described.

FIG. 49A is a plan view of the liquid crystal display device P2. FIG.49B is a right-side view of the same, and FIG. 49C is an upper-side viewof the same. FIG. 50 is an enlarged view of an essential part B shown inFIG. 49A. FIG. 51 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line c—c inFIG. 50. FIG. 52 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line d—d inFIG. 50. In these drawings, parts corresponding to those in the liquidcrystal display device P1 described above are denoted by the samereference characters.

As shown in FIG. 49A, the display area 3 is divided into the upper areaand the lower area. The transparent common electrode group 4 in theupper area is drawn to the right side, and the transparent commonelectrode group 4 in the lower area is drawn to the left side. They areconnected to the wiring patterns 5A and 5B, respectively, on the glasssubstrate 2. These wiring patterns 5A and 5B are extended to theconduction portions between substrates Q21 and Q22, respectively.

The conduction portions between substrates Q21 and Q22 are provided forelectrically connecting the wiring patterns 5A, 5B on the glasssubstrate 2 to the wiring pattern 20 on the glass substrate 1. In thisexample, the sealing resin 7 containing conductive particles 14 is usedfor these portions as shown in FIG. 51.

The wiring pattern 20 is a pattern made of ITO, which spreads in theform of a trapezoid. The wiring pattern 20 is connected to thecommon-side terminal group 6 disposed on the both sides of thesegment-side terminal group 8. In the conduction portions betweensubstrates Q21 and Q22, in order to stably connect the upper and lowerelectrodes to each other with low resistance to conduction by bringingthem into contact with many conductive particles 14, the wiring width Dof the wiring patterns 5 and 20 needs to be as large as possible. Inaddition, in order to prevent the conductive particles 14 from causingshort-circuit among adjacent wires, a spacing S larger than a specificdistance is required between each of the wires (See FIG. 52).

Accordingly, under the present circumstances, wiring pitch P (P=wiringwidth D+wiring spacing S) in the conduction portions between substratesQ21 and Q22 is made larger than the wiring pitch (in the order of 60 μm)of the common-side terminal group 6.

It is therefore necessary to provide an area (represented by the size Lin FIG. 49A) for routing the wiring pattern 20 spreading from thecommon-side terminal group 6 in the form of a sector.

This makes the longitudinal size of the panel large, failing to meet therecent market demand for downsizing. For example, such a panel isinconvenient to be used as LCD panel for mobile phone in which the paneldimensions are restricted.

In addition, regarding small size liquid crystal display devices formobile phones, it is often the case that wiring patterns 5 and 9 areviewable from the display surface due to its small area. When the wiringpatterns 5 and 9 are formed of a metal material, light reflected fromthe patterns deteriorates the visibility. Improvement in this respect isalso anticipated.

It is an object of this invention to provide a liquid crystal displaydevice capable of accomplishing downsizing thereof by reduceddimensions.

It is another object of this invention to provide a liquid crystaldisplay device which is suitable for a portable terminal such as mobilephone.

It is still another object of this invention to provide displayequipment in which downsizing thereof is accomplished.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a liquid crystaldisplay device with good visibility.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a liquid crystal display device according to this invention, thereare provided connection terminals for segment electrodes and connectionterminals for common electrodes formed on a first substrate and externalto one side portion of a seal member. On the first substrate, a wiringpattern which extends from the connection terminals for commonelectrodes and passes through an area between another side portion ofthe seal member and a display area is formed. A conduction portionbetween substrates for electrically and vertically connecting the wiringpattern and the common electrode group to each other is provided withinanother side portion of the seal member or between another side portionof the seal member and the display area.

By this arrangement, a small size liquid crystal display device can beprovided.

In addition, according to this invention, a light-shielding film isformed on the second substrate such that it is opposed to the wiringpattern. Accordingly, the display area is clearly and sharply viewedwith improved visibility. This effect is particularly remarkable indownsized liquid crystal display devices.

Moreover, according to the present invention, the segment electrodegroup and the wiring pattern are both formed by using a metal film sothat they can be formed simultaneously. The manufacturing cost istherefore reduced so that a low cost liquid crystal display device canbe provided.

In the liquid crystal display device according to this invention, awiring pattern formed on the first substrate and a wiring pattern formedon the second substrate are arranged such that they overlap each other.By this arrangement, the liquid crystal display device can be downsizedas a whole without reducing the display area.

In the liquid crystal display device according to this invention, adummy pattern is formed on the second substrate such that it is disposedin a region opposite to the wiring pattern and between the seal memberand the display area or within the seal member. A homogeneous liquidcrystal display can therefore be obtained, and a further downsizedliquid crystal display device can be provided without displayunevenness.

Also, a dummy pattern is formed on the first substrate such that it isdisposed in a region between the seal member and the display area orwithin the seal member where the wiring pattern is not formed, and alsoon the second substrate such that it is opposed to the aforementionedregion. Therefore, a further downsized liquid crystal display devicewithout display unevenness can be provided.

In addition, according to this invention, an end of either or both ofthe common electrode group and the wiring pattern are disposed withinanother side portion of the seal member. Accordingly, even if there isstatic electricity near the peripheral of the liquid crystal displaydevice, the static electricity is prevented from getting into the commonelectrode group and wiring pattern. The driver IC is therefore preventedfrom damage. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a liquid crystaldisplay device with high reliability and high quality.

In the liquid crystal display device according to this invention, adummy pattern for display frame is formed. By this arrangement, thedevice is downsized as well as coloration and texture between thedisplay area and display window frame is made homogeneous, therebyproviding a high quality liquid crystal display device having a displayframe with an excellent appearance.

In the liquid crystal display device according to this invention, theseal member contains numerous conductive particles and an insulatingfilm provided over the segment electrode group is extended to one sideportion of the seal member. By this arrangement, it is possible toprovide a liquid crystal display device with high reliability in whichdownsizing is accomplished and short-circuit does not occur among thewires.

When the arrangement is such that wires extending from the wiringpattern or the segment electrode group are passed through one sideportion of the seal member and arranged in an array of oblique lines,the intervals among the wires are narrow. Accordingly, it is furthereffective in preventing short-circuit among the wires to extend theinsulating film to one side portion of the seal member.

When the arrangement is such that the insulating film is extended alsoto another side portion of the seal member, unevenness in thicknessbecomes small or nil over the whole seal member. Accordingly, the liquidcrystal is given a uniform thickness in its layer, resulting in ahomogeneous display appearance over the whole display area.

In the liquid crystal display device according to this invention, thesegment electrode group comprises a wiring pattern that is formed of alayer in which a transparent conductive film and a metal film arelaminated together.

By controlling the ratio between the area of the transparent conductivefilm and the area of the metal film in the wiring pattern, it ispossible to provide a high performance and high quality liquid crystaldisplay device.

Moreover, according to the present invention, the segment electrodegroup and the wiring pattern are both formed by using a metal film. Bothof them can thus be formed simultaneously, reducing the manufacturingcost and providing a liquid crystal display device at a low cost.

Furthermore, according to this invention, by providing a portableterminal or display equipment with the liquid crystal display device ofthis invention, a downsized portable terminal or display equipment canbe realized.

Now, the structural details of this invention are described referring tothe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S1 accordingto this invention, FIG. 1B is a right-side view of the same, and FIG. 1Cis an upper-side view of the same.

FIG. 2 shows a cross section taken along the line e—e in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S2. FIG. 3B isa right-side view of the same, and FIG. 3C is an upper-side view of thesame.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line f—f in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 5A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S3. FIG. 5B isa right-side view of the same, and FIG. 5C is an upper-side view of thesame.

FIG. 6A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S4. FIG. 6B isa right-side view of the same, and FIG. 6C is an upper-side view of thesame.

FIG. 7A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S5. FIG. 7B isa right-side view of the same, and FIG. 7C is an upper-side view of thesame.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid crystal display device S6according to this invention.

FIGS. 9A, 9B are cross-sectional views of the liquid crystal displaydevice S6 according to this invention. FIG. 9A shows a case where the Alfilm of the wiring pattern 5 is thick, and FIG. 9A shows a case wherethe Al film of the wiring pattern 5 is thin.

FIG. 10A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S7 of thisinvention. FIG. 10B is a right-side view of the same.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line j—j in FIG. 10A.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid crystal display device S8according to this invention, which has a light-shielding film.

FIG. 13A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S9, and FIG.13B is a right-side view of the same.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line a—a in FIG. 13A.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line b—b in FIG. 13A.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of an example of the liquid crystal displaydevice S9.

FIG. 17A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S10, and FIG.17B is a right-side view of the same.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line d—d in FIG. 17A.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line e—e in FIG. 17A.

FIG. 20A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S11, and FIG.20B is a right-side view of the same.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line f—f in FIG. 20A.

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line g—g in FIG. 20A.

FIG. 23 is an enlarged view of the essential part A in FIG. 22.

FIG. 24A is a plan view of the liquid crystal display device S12, andFIG. 24B is a right-side view of the same.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view taken from the line h—h in FIG. 24A.

FIG. 26 is an enlarged view of the essential part B in FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid crystal display device S13according to this invention.

FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid crystal display deviceS13-2 according to this invention.

FIG. 29 is a schematic plan view showing display equipment with any ofthe liquid crystal display devices S1–S13 incorporated within its windowframe 33.

FIG. 30A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S14 accordingto this invention, and FIG. 30B is a right-side view of the same.

FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line a—a in FIG. 30A.

FIG. 32 is a schematic plan view showing display equipment with theliquid crystal display device S14 incorporated within its window frame33.

FIG. 33A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S14-2according to this invention, and FIG. 33B is a right-side view of thesame.

FIG. 34A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S14-3, andFIG. 34B is a right-side view of the same.

FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid crystal display device inwhich an insulating film 18 is formed so as to cover a display area andthe periphery thereof.

FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional liquid crystaldevice wherein the insulating film 18 is not formed.

FIG. 37A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S15 accordingto this invention, and FIG. 37B is a right-side view of the same.

FIG. 38 is a view enlarging the part g in FIG. 37A.

FIG. 39 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line h—h in FIG. 38.

FIG. 40A is a plan view of another liquid crystal display device S15-2according to this invention, and FIG. 40B is a right-side view of thesame.

FIGS. 41A, 41B are plan views showing examples of the arrangement ofreflecting area and transparent area of segment electrode 10 within onepixel.

FIGS. 42A, 42B show other examples of the arrangement of reflecting areaand transparent area of segment electrode 10 within one pixel.

FIGS. 43A, 43B show still other examples of the arrangement ofreflecting area and transparent area of segment electrode 10 within onepixel.

FIG. 44 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of displayequipment with a transflective liquid crystal display device S accordingto this invention provided therein.

FIG. 45 is an elevational view showing a mobile phone provided with aliquid crystal display device S according to this invention.

FIG. 46 is an elevational view showing a portable terminal in which aliquid crystal display device S according to this invention is providedin a small size case.

FIG. 47A is a plan view of a conventional liquid crystal display deviceP1 and FIG. 47B is a right-side view of the same. FIG. 47C is anupper-side view of the same.

FIG. 48 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line a—a in FIG. 47A.

FIG. 49A is a plan view of a conventional liquid crystal display deviceP2, and FIG. 49B is a right-side view of the same. FIG. 49C is anupper-side view of the same.

FIG. 50 is an enlarged view of the essential part B in FIG. 49A.

FIG. 51 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line c—c in FIG. 50.

FIG. 52 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line d—d in FIG. 50.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

<First Embodiment (Conduction Between Substrates)>

A STN passive matrix type liquid crystal display device for colordisplay wherein one pixel is constituted of R (red), G (green) and B(blue) is described as an example.

FIG. 1A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S1 accordingto this invention, FIG. 1B is a right-side view of the same, and FIG. 1Cis an upper-side view of the same. FIG. 2 shows a cross section takenalong the line e—e in FIG. 1. Parts corresponding to those in the aboveliquid crystal display devices P1 and P2 are denoted by the samereference characters.

This liquid crystal display device S1 has a structure in which the lowerglass substrate 1 and the upper glass substrate 2 are joined together.

On the internal surface of the glass substrate 2, the transparent commonelectrode group 4 made of ITO is horizontally formed, on which thealignment film 23 for aligning the liquid crystal 12 is formed. On theinternal surface of the glass substrate 1, the transparent segmentelectrode group 10 is vertically formed, and the alignment film 24 isformed thereon. Between the alignment films 23 and 24, spacers 45 forkeeping the gap between the substrates at a constant distance aredisposed in a dispersed manner.

In a colorized liquid crystal display device, one pixel is constitutedof three kinds of colors, which are R (red), G (green) and B (blue).Accordingly, when the number of pixels is represented by m×n, the numberof the transparent segment electrodes 10 needs to be 3m.

Meanwhile, when a monochrome display is produced, R, G and B areunnecessary. The number of the transparent segment electrodes 10 istherefore m.

There are 3m transparent segment electrodes 10, and n transparent commonelectrodes 4 in the liquid crystal display device S1. The n transparentcommon electrodes 4 are referred to by ordinal numbers in descendingorder, from the 1st to the nth. The 3m transparent segment electrodes 10are referred to by ordinal numbers in right-to-left order, from the 1stto the 3mth.

The area where the transparent common electrode group 4 and transparentsegment electrode group 10 cross each other forms a display area 3.

Further outside the display area 3, the sealing resin 7 containingconductive particles 14, is provided so as to surround the display area3. The glass substrates 1 and 2 are bonded together with the sealingresin 7, and the internal space between them is filled with the liquidcrystal 12 by injecting it through an injection inlet 13. Then, it issealed with the resin 11.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the common-side terminal group 6 and segment-sideterminal group 8 made of ITO or the like are juxtaposed to each other ina lower area of the glass substrate 1 and external to the lower side ofthe sealing resin 7. These common-side terminal group 6 and segment-sideterminal group 10 are connected to TCP or COF by using an anisotropicconductive film or the like. The parts denoted by the numeral 15 aremarkers for positioning by which TCP or COF is positioned when attachedonto the substrate.

When the segment-side terminal group 8 and common-side terminal group 6are disposed closely to each other, it is feared that during a test,short-circuit may occur caused by the conductive rubber in contact withthe segment-side terminal group 8 coming in touch with the conductiverubber in contact with the common-side terminal group 6. In order toeliminate such inconvenience, spacing 21 with a certain degree of widthis provided between the common-side terminal group 6 and segment-sideterminal group 8.

The segment-side terminal group 8 is connected to the transparentsegment electrode group 10 through the wiring pattern 9 which is made ofITO and spreads in the form of a sector. The right most terminal of thesegment-side terminals 8 is the first terminal, and other terminals arecounted in sequence from right to left. Thus, the left most terminal isthe 3mth.

On the other hand, the common-side terminal group 6 is extended upwardas shown in FIG. 1A and connected to the wiring pattern 5 made of ITO.The wiring pattern 5 routed in such a manner is arranged such that it isbent toward the above-mentioned right side sealing resin 7 on the glasssubstrate 1.

This bent wiring pattern 5 is extended to a conduction portion betweensubstrates Q1. The conduction portion between substrates Q1 functions toelectrically connect the wires on the glass substrate 1 and those on theglass substrate 2 to each other. In this example, the sealing resin 7containing conductive particles 14 as shown in 2, is used for thisportion.

By providing the conduction portion between substrates Q1 having such astructure, the wiring pattern that extends rightward from thetransparent common electrode group 4 on the upper glass substrate 2 iselectrically connected through conductive particles 14 to the wiringpattern 5 on the lower glass substrate 1.

Accordingly, each of the transparent electrodes 4 on the glass substrate2 is connected to each of the common-side terminals 6. In thecommon-side terminals 6, the left most terminal is the 1st, and otherterminals are counted in sequence from left to right. Thus, the rightmost terminal is the nth.

In such a manner, in the liquid crystal display device S1 according tothis embodiment, the wiring pattern that has been conventionallynecessary, which is the wiring pattern 20 spreading in the form of asector in FIG. 49, is not provided. The space for the wiring pattern istherefore unnecessary, by which downsizing can be accomplished.

<Second Embodiment (Conduction Between Substrates)>

FIG. 3A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S2. FIG. 3B isa right-side view of the same, and FIG. 3C is an upper-side view of thesame. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line f—f in FIG.3A. Parts corresponding to those of the aforementioned liquid crystaldisplay device S1 are denoted by the same reference characters.

Instead of the sealing resin 7 containing conductive particles 14 usedfor the conduction portion between the substrates Q1 in the liquidcrystal display device S1, in the liquid crystal display device S2, aconduction portion between the substrates Q2 formed by using a conductor30 such as silver paste is disposed along one side of the sealing resin7 and between the display area 3 and the sealing resin 7. The partsother than this are arranged in the same manner as in the liquid crystaldisplay device S1 above.

Accordingly, also in this liquid crystal display device S2, theconventionally used wiring pattern, which is the wiring pattern 20spreading in the form of a sector in FIG. 49, is not provided. The spacefor the wiring pattern is therefore unnecessary, by which downsizing canbe accomplished.

<Third Embodiment (Conduction Between Substrates)>

FIG. 5A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S3. FIG. 5B isa right-side view of the same, and FIG. 5C is an upper-side view of thesame. In these drawings, parts corresponding to those of theaforementioned liquid crystal display device S1 are denoted by the samereference characters.

In this embodiment, the display area 3 is vertically divided into blockI and block II. Transparent common electrodes 4(1)–4(n′) in block I areaare drawn to the right side, and transparent common electrodes4(n′+1)–4(n) in block II area are drawn to the left side, which areextended to conduction portions between the substrates Q3 and Q4,respectively. Here, there is assumed the relationship 1<n′<n. The n′ maybe, for instance, n/2.

These conduction portions between substrates Q3 and Q4 are intended toelectrically connect the wires between the glass substrate 1 and theglass substrate 2, and the sealing resin 7 containing conductiveparticles 14 is employed also in this embodiment as in the liquidcrystal display device S1 (FIG. 2). The conduction portions betweensubstrates Q3 and Q4 are connected to wiring patterns 5A and 5B,respectively, on the glass substrate 1. The wiring pattern 5A isextended to the lower side of the sealing resin 7, where it is connectedwith common-side terminals 6(1)–6(n′). The wiring pattern 5B is extendedto the lower side of the sealing resin 7, where it is connected withcommon-side terminals 6(n′+1)–6(n).

The part denoted by the numeral 32 is a space between segment-sideterminal group 8(1)–8(3m) and common-side terminal group 6(1)–6(n′). Aspace between segment-side terminal group 8(1)–8(3m) and common-sideterminal group 6(n′+1)–6(n) is denoted by 33.

In the manner as described above, the conduction portions betweensubstrates Q3 and Q4 and the wiring patterns 5A and 5B are formed onboth sides of the display area. Further downsizing can therefore beaccomplished.

This liquid crystal display device S3 is compared in size with theliquid crystal display device P2 in FIG. 49. Both of the devices set thevalues as follows:

-   Pixel Pitch: Horizontal 0.08 mm×3 (R,G,B), Vertical 0.24 mm-   Number of Pixels: 120×160-   Wiring pitch of segment-side terminal group 8: 0.06 mm-   Wiring Pitch of common-side terminal group 6: 0.06 mm

The glass substrate 1 of the conventional liquid crystal display deviceP2 was 40 mm×48 mm in size. In comparison, the size of the glasssubstrate 1 of the liquid crystal display device S3 of this embodimentwas as small as 40 mm×45–46 mm.

<Forth Embodiment (Conduction Between Substrates)>

FIG. 6A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S4. FIG. 6B isa right-side view of the same, and FIG. 6C is an upper-side view of thesame. In these drawings, parts corresponding to those of theaforementioned liquid crystal display device S1 are denoted by the samereference characters.

In the previous third embodiment, the liquid crystal display device S3,the display area 3 was vertically divided into two areas, in which thetransparent common electrodes 4(1)–4(n′) and 4(n′+1)–4(n) in both areaswere connected on the glass substrate 1 to the common-side terminalgroups 6(1)–6(n′) and 6(n′+1)–6(n) that were disposed on both sides ofthe segment-side terminal group 8. In the liquid crystal display deviceS4 in this embodiment, two such structures are combined together.

Namely, transparent common electrode group 4 is divided into fourblocks, which are block III, block IV, block V, and block VI. Blocks IIIand IV constitute one liquid crystal display device S3 mentioned above,and blocks V and VI constitute another liquid crystal display device S3.

To explain more specifically referring to FIG. 6A, for block V, commonconnection terminal group 6(n/2+1)–6(3n/4) on the lower right side isconnected to transparent common electrode group 4(n/2+1)–4(3n/4). Forblock VI, common connection terminal group 6(3n/4+1)–6(n) on the lowerleft side is connected to transparent common electrode group4(3n/4+1)–4(n).

For block III, common connection terminal group 6(1)–6(n/4) on the upperright side is connected to transparent common electrode group4(1)–4(n/4) For block IV, common connection terminal group6(n/4+1)–6(n/2) on the upper left side is connected to transparentcommon electrode group 4(n/4+1)–4(n/2).

Segment-side terminal group 8(1)—8(3m) on the lower side of blocks V, VIis connected to transparent segment electrode group 10(1)–10(3m) throughthe wiring pattern 9 that is made of ITO and spreads in the form of asector. Segment-side terminal group 8(1)–8(3m) on the upper side ofblocks III, IV is connected to transparent segment electrode group48(1)–48(3m) through the wiring pattern 47 that is made of ITO andspreads in the form of a sector. Meanwhile, the transparent segmentelectrode groups 10 and 48 are not connected to each other at the centerof the display area 3.

To explain taking block IV as an example, wires from the common-sideterminal group 6(n/4+1)–6(n/2) on the upper left side are connected tothe wiring pattern 5C that has been formed on the upper left side of theglass substrate 1 as shown in FIG. 6A. The wiring patter 5C is routedvertically downward, and then bent horizontally to the left towardsealing resin 7 formed on the left side of the glass substrate 1.

In the conduction portion between substrates Q8 formed in the vicinityof the left sides of the glass substrates 1 and 2, the wiring pattern 5Cand wires extending to the left from the transparent common electrodegroup 4(n/4+1)–4(n/2) in block IV on the glass substrate 2 areelectrically connected to each other through the sealing resin 7containing conductive particles 14.

Therefore, also in the liquid crystal display device S4 of thisembodiment, the conventional sector-shaped wiring pattern, which is thewiring pattern 20 spreading in the form of a sector in FIG. 49, is notprovided. The space for the wiring pattern is therefore unnecessary, bywhich downsizing can be accomplished.

<Fifth Embodiment (Conduction Between Substrates)>

FIG. 7A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S5. FIG. 7B isa right-side view of the same, and FIG. 7C is an upper-side view of thesame. In these drawings, parts corresponding to those of theaforementioned liquid crystal display device S1 are denoted by the samereference characters.

In this liquid crystal display device S5, the segment connectionterminal group 8 and the common connection terminal group 6 are providedon the opposed upper and lower sides of the glass substrate 1.

The display area 3 is vertically divided as shown in FIG. 7A into blocksVII and VIII. The transparent common electrode group 4 consisting of nelectrodes is separated sequentially in descending order into the1st–n/2th and the (n/2+1)th–nth, which are disposed in block VII andVIII, respectively. The transparent segment electrode groups areconstituted of the transparent segment electrode group 48(1)–48(3m) onthe upper side and the transparent segment electrode group 10(1)–10(3m)on the lower side. Meanwhile, the transparent segment electrode group 48and the transparent segment electrode group 10 are not connected at thecenter of the display area 3.

The common connection terminal group 6 on the upper side is connected totransparent common electrode group 4(1)–4(n/2) in block VIII, and thecommon connection terminal group 6 on the lower side is connected totransparent common electrode group 4(n/2+1)–4(n) in block VIII. Thesymbols 56 (Q9) and 57(Q10) represent conduction portions betweensubstrates.

Also in the liquid crystal display device S5 of this embodiment, theconventional sector-shaped wiring pattern, which is the wiring pattern20 spreading in the form of a sector in FIG. 49, is not provided. Thespace for the wiring pattern is therefore unnecessary, by whichdownsizing can be accomplished.

In this embodiment, the conduction portions between substrates Q9 andQ10 are provided on the right and left sides of the display area 3.However, in order to further reduce the size in the horizontaldirection, the arrangement may be such that conduction portions betweensubstrates Q9 and Q10 are disposed on one side of the display area 3.

<Sixth Embodiment (Metal Wiring)>

In each embodiment so far discussed, wiring patterns 5 and 9 are formedby using ITO. Alternatively, a metal layer with good electricalconductivity, which is a layer made of a metal such as aluminum (Al), analuminum alloy, silver (Ag), a silver alloy or the like, may beemployed.

When there is high resistance in an output wiring from a driver IC thatdrives a liquid crystal display device, it causes shortage of voltage tobe applied to the transparent common electrode group 4 and transparentsegment electrode group 10 in the display area 3, making it impossibleto obtain a stable display.

Therefore, in the liquid crystal display device S6 of this embodiment,wiring patterns 5 and 9 are formed by using aluminum (Al) havingresistance lower than that of ITO.

The plan view of the liquid crystal display S6 is the same as that shownin FIG. 5A. Cross sectional views taken along the line g—g in FIG. 5Aare shown in FIGS. 8, 9A and 9B. FIG. 9A illustrates a case where thefilm thickness of Al is large, and FIG. 9B illustrates a case where thefilm thickness of Al is small.

At the conduction portion between substrates Q3, the wiring pattern 5which is made of Al and disposed on the glass substrate 1 is connectedto the wiring pattern 5′ which is made of ITO and formed beneath thesealing resin 7.

The wiring pattern 5′ is electrically connected to the transparentcommon electrode group 4 on the glass substrate 2 through conductiveparticles 14 contained in the sealing resin 7.

In this liquid crystal display device S6, since a metal layer withexcellent electrical conductivity is employed for the wiring patterns 5and 9, shortage of voltage applied to the transparent common electrodegroup 4 and the transparent segment electrode group 10 does not arise.Improved display stability is therefore obtained.

Now, a description is given to the thickness of the metal layer used forthe wiring patterns 5 and 9.

Fine granular spacers 45 are dispersed on an alignment film made of asynthetic resin, polyimide, that is formed on the wiring patterns of theglass substrates 1 and 2. By these spacers 451 the gap between the glasssubstrates 1 and 2 is kept at a constant distance.

However, when the film thickness of Al or the like for forming thewiring pattern on the glass substrate 1 is very large in comparison tothe thickness of ITO on the glass substrate 1 or the thickness of ITO onthe glass substrate 2, it becomes very difficult to keep the gap betweenthe glass substrates 1 and 2 at a constant distance.

A case where the film thickness of Al is thick as mentioned above isillustrated in FIG. 9A.

For example, it is assumed that the thickness of the ITO film on theglass substrate 1 and the thickness of the ITO film on the glasssubstrate 2 are both 2000 Å and the thickness of the Al metal layer is10000 Å.

At the section H shown in FIG. 9A where there is the Al metal layer 5,when the spacers 45 are disposed in a region where the gap betweensubstrates is narrow, the substrates are distanced further at thatspecific region. This causes the gap between substrates to be uneven,resulting in an uneven display.

Contrary to this case, a case where the thickness of Al film is the sameas that of ITO film on the glass substrate 1 and that of ITO film on theglass substrate 2 is shown in FIG. 9B.

According to this arrangement, since the thickness of Al film is 2000 Å,which is the same as those of ITO films on the glass substrate 1 and theglass substrate 2, it is possible to keep the gap between substrates inthe display area 3 and areas in the vicinity thereof at a constantdistance. As a result, a uniform display without unevenness can beobtained.

EXAMPLE

The present inventors formed an ITO film with a thickness of 2000 Å oneach of glass substrates 1 and 2, and formed wiring patterns 5 and 9 byusing an Al metal layer, varying the thickness of the Al metal layer tovarious values as shown in Table 1. Then, the display performance wasevaluated.

TABLE 1 Thickness of Al (Å) 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 Ratio (to ITO 0.250.5 1 1.5 2 thickness) Display Δ ◯ ⊚ ◯ Δ unevenness

In Table 1, the thickness of the Al metal layer and the ratio of the Althickness to ITO thickness (Al thickness/ITO thickness) of each sampleare also shown. The display performance is represented by displayunevenness. Samples that had no display unevenness observed and hadexcellent display performance were marked by ⊚, and samples thatappeared to have some display unevenness but achieved good displayperformance were marked by ◯.

Samples that had a little display unevenness and had slightlydeteriorated display performance were marked by Δ, and samples that hadobvious display unevenness were marked by X.

As is apparent from the Table 1, it is preferable that the thickness ofthe Al metal layer is 1000 Å–3000 Å, and the ratio of the Al filmthickness to the ITO film thickness is 0.5–1.5.

<Seventh Embodiment (Wiring Resistance)>

In order to obtain an even display in a liquid crystal display device,it is important to minimize difference in resistance among each outputwire extending from the driver IC to the transparent segment electrodegroup 10 that consists of 3m electrodes. Also, it is important tominimize difference in resistance among each output wire extending fromthe driver IC to transparent common electrode group 4 that consists of nelectrodes.

When difference in resistance is large in a wiring pattern which leadsto each transparent electrode, due to difference in voltage drop,voltage applied to each transparent electrode in the display areavaries. Accordingly, an even display cannot be obtained.

Therefore, a liquid crystal display device S7 of this embodiment isarranged, in wiring patterns 5A and 5B routed from the common-sideterminal group 6 to the transparent common electrode group 4, such thata difference in resistance among each wire is minimized by adjusting theratio between the area of ITO and the area of Al.

The adjustment of the ratio between the areas can be performed, as latermentioned in the sixteenth embodiment (light reflective electrode), byforming the wires using ITO and forming an Al film thereon, thenpartially removing the Al film such that the ratio between the areasbecomes a prescribed rate.

Now, an explanation is given referring to FIG. 10A. In the group oflines (wires) constituting the wiring pattern 5A that stands upvertically from the common-side terminal group 6(1)–6(n′) and bendshorizontally toward the sealing resin 7, the longest line is the firstone. The lines are shortened in steps through the way to the n′th one.In the group of lines (wires) constituting the wiring pattern 5B thatstands up vertically from the common-side terminal group 6(n′+1)–6(n)and bends horizontally toward sealing resin 7, the longest line is the(n′+1)th one. Here, however, the (n′+1)th one is shorter than the n′thone. The shortest one is the nth line.

Accordingly, if the wiring patterns 5A and 5B are formed by using thesame kind of metal film with the same thickness, and with the samewiring width, resistance is reduced in steps through the way from thefirst one to the nth one. As a result, the difference in resistancebetween the first one and the nth one is extremely large.

Therefore, this embodiment is arranged such that when patterning isperformed by lithography, with the wiring width of each wire in thewiring patterns 5A and 5B being fixed, the ratio of the area of ITO,which has greater resistance than that of Al, to the area of Al ischanged. In this manner, difference in resistance across the wiringpattern is reduced.

The first line of the wiring pattern 5 is formed entirely of Al, and thenth line of the wiring pattern 5 is formed entirely of ITO. From thesecond line of the wiring pattern 5 through the (n−1)th line of thewiring pattern 5, the ratio of the area of ITO to the area of Al isgradually increased.

Although this embodiment is a case where Al and ITO are mixed, the metalis not limited to Al, but may be other ones that have lower resistanceas compared with ITO.

EXAMPLE

FIG. 10A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S7 of thisembodiment. FIG. 10B is a right-side view of the same.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line j—j in FIG. 10A.In these drawings, parts corresponding to those of the aforementionedliquid crystal display device S1 are denoted by the same referencecharacters.

The size of the glass substrate 1 was 40 mm (horizontal)×48 mm(vertical). The size of the glass substrate 2 is 40 mm (horizontal)×45.5mm (vertical). The number of pixels was 120×160.

One hundred and sixty transparent common electrodes 4 are referred to indescending order as “the first one–the 160th one”, and madecorrespondent to common-side terminals 6. In the common-side terminals 6on the right side, the left most terminal is the first one. When theterminals are counted in left-to-right order, the right most terminal isthe 80th one. In the common-side terminals 6 on the left side, theright-most terminal is the 81st one. When the terminals are counted inright-to-left order, the left-most terminal is the 160th one.

Three hundred and sixty (120×3) transparent segment electrodes 10 arereferred to in right-to-left order as “the first one–the 360th one”, andmade correspondent to segment-side terminals 8. The right most terminalof the segment-side terminals 8 is the first one. When the terminals arecounted in right-to-left order, the left most terminal is the 360th one.

The width D of each line of the wiring patterns 5A and 5B is uniformly30 μm. In the lines in the wiring patterns 5A and 5B, the longest lineis the fist one. The lines are shortened in steps so that the 160th oneis the shortest. The first line (1) of the wiring pattern 5 is formedentirely of Al, and the 160th line of the wiring pattern 5 is formedentirely of ITO. From the second line (2) of the wiring pattern 5through the 159th line of the wiring pattern 5, the ratio of the area ofITO to the area of Al is gradually increased.

The structure will be further described in detail referring to FIG. 11.

On a glass substrate 1, a wiring pattern 5 formed of a Al film andtransparent segment electrode group 10 made of ITO are formed, and analignment film 24 made of polyimide is formed on top of them.

On a glass substrate 2, a color filter 46 constituted of resist resinsR, G and B is formed. On the color filter 46, an overcoat made of aninsulator such as synthetic resin or silica is provided, on which atransparent common electrode group 4 is formed. An alignment film 23made of polyimide is formed on top of them.

The side faces between the glass substrates 1 and 2 are surrounded by asealing resin 7, and a liquid crystal 12 is injected into the inside ofthe surrounded portion. Also, spacers 45 for keeping the gap between thesubstrates at a constant distance are dispersed between the substrates.The thicknesses of the Al film and ITO film are both 2000 Å.

The present inventors varied the structure of the wiring pattern 5consisting of 160 lines in three ways: wiring patterns 5 formed entirelyof ITO; wiring pattern 5 formed entirely of Al; and wiring pattern 5 inwhich the ratio between the area of ITO and the area of Al is adjusted.In each case, the maximum resistance (RMAX.) of the first line and theminimum resistance (RMIN.) of the 160th line were measured. Furthermore,display unevenness was evaluated for each case. The obtained results areshown in Table 2. The resistances are indicated in ohm (Ω).

Meanwhile, the sheet resistances are as follows:

-   ITO: 10 ohm/sq. (Film thickness 2000 Å)-   Al: 0.4 ohm/sq. (Film thickness 2000 Å)

TABLE 2 All formed All formed Al and ITO of Al of ITO mixed Resistanceof 1st 1500  10000  1500 one RMAX. Resistance of 900 1400 1400 160th oneRMIN. Difference in 600 8600  100 resistance RMAX. − RMIN. Display ◯ X ⊚unevenness

As is apparent from Table 2, display unevenness was eliminated by theresistance adjustment performed in this example.

<Eighth Embodiment (Light-shielding Film)>.

In this liquid crystal display device S8, as shown in FIG. 12, thelight-shielding film J is formed on the glass substrate 2 in a regionopposed to the wiring pattern 5 on the glass substrate 1. Because of thelight-shielding film J, the periphery of the display area 3 is madesharp and clear with improved visibility.

The use of the light-shielding film J is preferred especially when thewiring pattern 5 is formed of a metal material, since reflected lightfrom it can be blocked by this light-shielding film J.

It is also possible to surround the periphery of the display area 3 bythe light-shielding film J, which gives the liquid crystal displaydevice a good appearance and enhanced visual attraction. More desirably,the light-shielding film J is provided in areas from the periphery ofdisplay area 3 to the vicinity of the region beneath the seal.

A reflective type liquid crystal display device S8 and a transflectivetype liquid crystal display device S8 are now described referring toFIG. 12.

In a reflective type device and in a transflective type device as well,a retardation film (not shown) made of polycarbonate or the like and apolarizing film (not shown) made of iodine-based material aresuccessively stacked on the outer surface of the glass substrate 2, andare attached thereto with an adhesive composed of acryl-based material.

In the case of a transflective device, a retardation film made ofpolycarbonate or the like and a polarizing film made of iodine-basedmaterial are successively stacked also on the outer surface of the glasssubstrate 1, and a backlight is disposed under the glass substrate 1.

Segment electrodes 10 and an alignment film 24 made of polyimide thathas been rubbed in one direction are successively formed on the glasssubstrate 1. Incidentally, it is also possible to interpose aninsulating film composed of SiO₂ or the like between the segmentelectrodes 10 and the alignment film 24.

These segment electrodes 10 are formed using the same metal layer as thewiring pattern 5. For example, metal materials with good conductivitysuch as aluminum (Al), aluminum alloys (e.g. Cr in Al), silver (Ag) andsilver alloys may be used.

When a reflective type is intended, the thickness of the metal layer isabout 800 Å–1500 Å, preferably, about 1000 Å–1500 Å. The thickness ofthe Al film may be selected taking uniformity of the gap betweensubstrates into consideration from the range of 800 Å–1500 Å. In thecase of a transflective type device, the thickness may be selected fromthe range of 50 Å–900 Å, depending on the desired transmittance andreflectance.

Since the segment electrodes 10 and the wiring pattern 5 are both formedusing a metal film, both of them can be simultaneously formed, therebythe manufacturing cost is reduced.

The internal surface of the glass substrate 2 is provided with a colorfilter 46. A light-shielding film (not shown) may be formed between eachsegment of the color filter 46. The formation of this is carried out bya photolithography process or the like in which after resistapplication, sputtering and vacuum deposition are partially applied.This light-shielding film is formed of a metal such as aluminum,chromium, silver, an aluminum alloy or silver alloy, or a syntheticresin in which a black material such as carbon black or the like ismixed, or another light-impermeable synthetic resin.

When this light-shielding film is formed by using a metal film orphotoresist, the light-shielding film J is formed on the internalsurface of the glass substrate 2 at the same time. This allows thelight-shielding film J to be formed simultaneously with the formation ofthe color filter. Accordingly, the light-shielding film J can be formedwithout any additional process. The production cost is thereforereduced.

The color filter 46 is covered with an overcoat layer 55 composed ofSiO₂ or resin, on which common electrodes 4 and an alignment film 23made of polyimide that has been rubbed in one direction are successivelyformed. These common electrodes 4 are arranged perpendicular to thesegment electrodes 10. Meanwhile, it is also possible to provide aninsulating layer composed of SiO₂ or the like between the commonelectrodes 4 and the alignment film 23.

The segment electrodes 10 may either be specular reflection type ordiffuse reflection type. When diffuse reflection type segment electrodes10 are formed, a rugged surface is first prepared by using resin and ametal film is formed thereon.

The color filter 46 above is formed by a pigment dispersion process,that is, a photoresist that has been preliminarily prepared withpigments (red, green, blue and so on) dispersed therein is applied tothe substrate, and then photolithography is performed.

The glass substrates 1 and 2 that have been prepared in the above mannerare bonded together by sealing resin 7 with liquid crystal 12 made of,for example, a chiral nematic liquid crystal that has been twisted200–270 degrees of angle interposed therebetween. Furthermore, betweenthe both glass substrates 1 and 2, a large number of spacers (not shown)for keeping the thickness of the liquid crystal 12 uniform are provided.

In the liquid crystal display device S8 arranged in the above-describedmanner, when it is a light-reflective type, irradiating light fromexternal light sources such as the sun and fluorescent light passesthrough the retardation film and polarizing film, penetrates the colorfilter 46 to reach the segment electrodes 10, where it is reflected andpasses through the retardation film and polarizing film, and then isemitted.

When the liquid crystal display device S8 is a transflective type, itworks in the same way as the reflective type when used in a reflectionmode. When it is used in a transmissive mode, irradiating light from thebacklight passes through the polarizing film, retardation film, glasssubstrate 1, liquid crystal 12, glass substrate 2, retardation film, andpolarizing film, and then the light is emitted.

As mentioned above, since the segment electrodes 10 and the wiringpattern 5 are both formed using the same metal film, these can be formedsimultaneously by a thin-film forming process such as sputtering. Theproduction cost can therefore be reduced.

Meanwhile, in the liquid crystal display device with the above-describedstructure, it is also possible to form the segment electrodes 10 byusing ITO and a metal.

<Ninth Embodiment (Conduction Between Substrates)>

FIG. 13A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S9 and FIG.13B is a right-side view of the same. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional viewtaken along the line a—a in FIG. 13A, and FIG. 15 is a cross-sectionalview taken along the line b—b in FIG. 13A.

In this liquid crystal display device S9, the substrate 1 formed withthe transparent segment electrode group 10 and the substrate 2 formedwith the transparent common electrode group 4 are opposed to each otherand joined together via the sealing resin 7. The liquid crystal material12 is injected into the inside from the injection inlet 13 that isthereafter sealed by the sealing resin 11.

The transparent segment electrode group 10 and the transparent commonelectrode group 4 are both transparent electrodes aligned in a stripedmanner and arranged so that they intersect perpendicular to each other.The area where they intersect perpendicular to each other forms therectangularly shaped display area 3.

At the lower side on the transparent substrate 1, there are formed thesegment connection terminal group 8 and the common connection terminalgroup 6 which is separated into two blocks sandwiching the segmentconnection terminal group 8.

TCP (Tape Carrier Package) or COF (Chip-on Film) in which a driver IC isincorporated will be connected to the connection terminal groups 8, 6.

The segment connection terminal group 8 (1-3m) passes through a lowerside portion of the sealing resin 7 and is connected to the transparentsegment electrode group 10 (1-3m) made of ITO through the wiring pattern9.

On the other hand, the connection between the transparent commonelectrode group 4 and the common connection terminal group 6 is arrangedas follows.

The transparent common electrode group 4 is divided into a firstelectrode group and second electrode group.

In this example, the first electrode group is further divided intoblocks I and III, and the second electrode group is divided into blocksI, and W.

Then, as shown in FIG. 13A, blocks I, II are connected to the wiringpatterns 5A, 5B disposed on the right side of the display area, whileblocks III, IV are connected to the wiring patterns 5C, 5D disposed onthe left side of the display area.

The number of the entire transparent common electrodes 4 is N. Thetransparent common electrodes in block I are indicated as 4(1)–4(n), thetransparent common electrodes in block II are indicated as 4(n+1)–4(n′),the transparent common electrodes in block III are indicated as4(n′+1)–4(n″), and the transparent common electrodes in block IV areindicated as 4(n″+1)–4(N). In the right and left sides of the sealingresin 7, conduction portions between substrates Q13, Q14 are provided.In the lower side of the sealing resin 7, there are provided conductionportions between substrates Q15, Q16. The wiring patterns 5A, 5C inblocks I, III are connected to the conduction portions between thesubstrates Q13, Q14. The wiring patterns 5B, 5D in blocks II, IV areconnected to the conduction portions between the substrates Q15, Q16.

First, blocks I, II are described.

In FIG. 13A, a part of the right-side block (1st–nth) of the commonconnection terminal group 6 made of ITO is extended upward on the glasssubstrate 1. This extended portion is referred to as the wiring pattern5A (1st–nth). The wiring pattern 5A is bent rightward and at theconduction portion between substrate Q13, it is connected to a wiringpattern extended from the transparent common electrode group 4(1)–4(n)in block I on the transparent substrate 2 through the conductiveparticles 14 in the sealing resin 7.

On the other hand, the rest of the terminals 6(n+1)–6(n′) in theright-side block of the common connection terminal group 6 are connectedto the wiring pattern 5B(n+1)–5B(n′) on the transparent substrate 2 atthe conduction portion between substrate Q15. The wiring pattern5B(n+1)–5B(n′) on the transparent substrate 2 is extended upward on thetransparent substrate 2 as in FIG. 13A and bent leftward to be connectedto block II (n+1)–(n′) of the transparent electrode group 4.

Block III, W are described as follows.

A part of the left-side block (n′+1)–(n″) of the common connectionterminal group 6 made of ITO is connected to the wiring pattern5C(n′+1)–5C(n″), and extended upward on the glass substrate 1 as in FIG.13A and bent leftward to be connected to a wiring pattern that isextended from block III (n′+1)–(n″) of the transparent common electrodegroup 4 on the transparent substrate 2.

The rest (n″+1)–(N) of the terminals in the left-side block of thecommon connection terminal group 6 are electrically connected to thewiring pattern 5D(n″+1)–5D(N) on the transparent substrate 2 at theconduction portion between substrates Q16, and extended upward and bentrightward to be connected to block IV (n″+1)–(N) of the transparentcommon electrode group 4.

Referring to the structure of the cross section of the liquid crystaldisplay device S9 shown in FIG. 14, the wiring pattern 5A on thetransparent substrate 1 is electrically connected to the transparentcommon electrode group 4 on the transparent substrate 2 through thesealing resin 7 containing conductive particles 14. In the display area3, alignment films 16, 17 made of polyimide are formed on thetransparent common electrode group 4 and transparent segment electrodegroup 10, respectively. Spacers 45 for keeping the gap at a constantdistance are disposed between the alignment films 16, 17.

In FIG. 15 including the conduction portion between the substrates Q15,the common connection terminal group 6 on the transparent substrate 1 isconnected to the wiring pattern 5B on the transparent substrate 2through the sealing resin 7 containing conductive particles 14.

As described so far, in the liquid crystal display device S9 accordingto this invention, the wiring patterns 5A, 5B to which blocks I, II ofthe transparent common electrode group 4 are connected are formed on theopposed glass substrates 1 and 2, respectively. Accordingly, thedistance between the display area 3 and the sealing resin 7 can benarrowed, thereby accomplishing downsizing of the liquid crystal displaydevice.

Similarly to the above manner, the wiring patterns 5C, 5D to whichblocks III, IV of the transparent common electrode group 4 are connectedare vertically overlapped each other, allowing the distance between thedisplay area 3 and the sealing resin 7 to be narrowed, therebyaccomplishing downsizing of the device.

Meanwhile, in this embodiment, the transparent common electrode group 4is divided into the first and second electrode groups which are furtherdivided into blocks I, III and blocks II, IV, respectively. Instead ofthis arrangement, it is possible not to further divide the first andsecond electrode groups into blocks, or to divide each of the first andsecond electrode groups into three, four, or more blocks.

In addition, although the conduction portions between substrates areprovided within the sealing resin 7 in this embodiment, the conductionportions between the substrates may be provided between the sealingresin 7 and the display area 3.

EXAMPLE

An example of the liquid crystal display device S9 is now describedreferring to FIG. 16.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the liquid crystal display device S9. Thenumber of pixels of the display area 3 is (120×RGB)×160 dots, and thepixel pitch is 0.08 mm×0.24 mm.

The segment connection terminal group 8 (1st–360th) is connected to thetransparent segment electrodes 10 (1st–360th) through the wiring pattern9. Forty terminals (1st–40th) in the right-side block of the commonconnection terminal group 6 are connected to the wiring pattern 5A,extended and bent rightward to be connected to a wiring pattern that isextended from the 1st–40th electrodes of the transparent commonelectrode group 4 on the transparent substrate 2 at the conductionportion between the substrates Q13 through conductive particles in thesealing resin 7.

The rest (41st–80th) of the terminals in the right-side block of thecommon connection terminal group 6 are electrically connected at theconduction portion between the substrates Q15 to the wiring pattern 5Bon the transparent substrate 2, and extended and bent leftward to beconnected to the 41st–80th electrodes of the transparent commonelectrode group 4.

On the other hand, forty terminals (81st–120th) in the left-side blockof the common connection terminal group 6 are electrically connected tothe wiring pattern 5C, extended and bent leftward to be electricallyconnected at the conduction portion between substrates Q4 throughconductive particles inside the sealing resin 7 to a wiring pattern thatis extended form the 81st–120th electrodes of the transparent commonelectrode group 4 on the transparent substrate 2.

The rest (121st–160th) of the terminals in the left-side block of thecommon connection terminal group 6 are electrically connected to thewiring pattern 5D on the transparent substrate 2 through the conductionportion between the substrates Q16, extended and bent rightward to beconnected to the 121st–160th electrodes of the transparent commonelectrode group 4.

According to the above arrangement, the size of the area for routing thewiring patterns 5, which permits 40 wires with 0.05 m pitches to passthrough, is 0.5 mm×40=2 mm. The width of the sealing resin 7 is 1.5 mm,the size of the display area is: 0.08 mm pitch×360=28.8 mm. Accordingly,the horizontal size of the liquid crystal display device is given asfollows:2×2 mm+2×1.5 mm+28.8 mm=35.8 mm

However, in the liquid crystal display device S3 shown in FIG. 5A, giventhe number of transparent common electrodes 4 being 160, in order toallow the wiring patterns 5A, 5B each comprising 80 wires to passthrough the right and left areas, respectively, on the display area, thenecessary width is 0.05 mm×80=4 mm.

In comparison with this, areas of both of the transparent substrates 1,2 can be used for routing the wiring patterns 5 by providing 40 wires toeach of the routing areas. A width of 2 mm, given by 0.05 mm×40, isadequate for the routing area in the liquid crystal display device S9according to this invention.

As discussed so far, the liquid crystal display device according to thisinvention is capable of greatly reducing the sizes of the right and leftside areas outside the display area. Accordingly, this device was ableto make the display area larger than those of other liquid crystaldisplay devices having the same external configuration as this device.The results of the comparison are shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Horizontal size of wiring Horizontal size Horizontal sizepattern of display area of LCD LCD S9 2 mm 28.8 mm 35.8 mm LCD S3 4 mm24.8 mm 35.8 mm<Tenth Embodiment (Dummy Pattern)>

FIG. 17A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S10, and FIG.17B is a right-side view of the same. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional viewtaken along the line d—d in FIG. 17A, and FIG. 19 is a cross-sectionalview taken along the line e—e in FIG. 17A.

On the glass substrate 2, the transparent common electrode group 4consisting of n electrodes that are made of ITO and the alignment film23 for aligning the liquid crystal 12 are successively formed. On theother glass substrate 1, the transparent segment electrode group 10 madeof ITO and the alignment film 24 are successively formed. Spacers 45 aredispersed between the alignment films 23, 24.

The number of the transparent segment electrodes 10 and the number ofthe segment-side terminals 8 are both 3m, and the number of thetransparent common electrodes 4 and the number of the common-sideterminals 6 are both n. However they are partly omitted in the drawings.

The area where the transparent common electrode group 4 and transparentsegment electrode group 10 cross each other forms a display area 3.

Further outside the display area 3, the sealing resin 7 containingconductive particles 14 is provided so as to surround the display area3. The glass substrates 1 and 2 are bonded together with the sealingresin 7, and the internal space between them is filled with the liquidcrystal 12 by injecting it through the injection inlet 13. Then, it issealed with the sealing resin 11.

As shown in FIG. 17A, the common-side terminal group 6 and segment-sideterminal group 8 made of ITO or the like are juxtaposed to each other onthe lower side edge of the glass substrate 1.

The display area 3 is separated vertically into blocks I and II. Thetransparent common electrodes 4 in block I and the transparent commonelectrodes 4 in block II are drawn to the right side and the left side,respectively, and extended to conduction portions between substrates Q17and Q18, respectively. The conduction portions between substrates Q17,Q18 are provided for electrically connecting each of the wirings in theglass substrates 1, 2 with each other. In this embodiment, a sealingresin 7 containing conductive particles 14 is employed for theconduction portions as shown in FIG. 18.

Through the conduction portions between substrates Q17, Q18 arranged inthe above-manner, the transparent common electrode group 4 is connectedto the common-side terminal group 6, being extended from the wiringpattern 5 on the glass substrate 1.

The liquid crystal display device S10 according to the present inventionis characterized in that it is provided with dummy patterns for makingimage display even. This is described referring to FIG. 19 showing across sectional structure of the liquid crystal display device S10.

At a region on the glass substrate 1 where the sealing resin 7 isprovided, a transparent dummy member 27, which is made of the samematerial as that of the transparent segment electrode group 10 and hasthe same thickness, is attached to the substrate.

The wiring pattern 9 is formed on the glass substrate 1 between thedisplay area 3 and the sealing resin 7. In a region on the glasssubstrate 2 which is opposed to the wiring pattern 9, another dummypattern 22 is formed.

Also, in a region on the glass substrate 2 which is opposed to a wiringpattern 5 that is formed being connected to the transparent commonelectrode group 4, another dummy pattern 33 is formed. The regions onthe glass substrates 1, 2 between the display area 3 and the sealingresin 7 where the above-mentioned wiring patterns 5, 9 are not formedare provided with dummy patterns 31, 32, respectively.

By these dummy patterns 27, 22, 33, 31, 32, the thickness of the liquidcrystal 12 is made uniform throughout the display area 3.

This liquid crystal display device S10 and the liquid crystal displaydevice S3 in FIG. 5A are compared in size. In both of these devices, thevalues are set as follows:

-   Pixel Pitch: Horizontal 0.08 mm×3 (R,G,B), Vertical 0.24 mm-   Number of Pixels: 120×160-   Wiring pitch of segment-side terminal group 8: 0.06 mm-   Wiring Pitch of common-side terminal group 6: 0.06 mm.

The size of the glass substrate 1 of the liquid crystal display deviceS3 in FIG. 5A was 40 mm×48 mm. In comparison, the size of the glasssubstrate 1 of the liquid crystal display device S10 in this example wasas small as 40 mm×45–46 mm.

In addition, according to the liquid crystal display device S10 arrangedas above, it was possible to perform illumination tests without securingTCP or COP to the device by pressure.

<Eleventh Embodiment (Dummy Pattern, Metal Wiring)>

FIG. 20A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device Sl1, and FIG.20B is a right-side view of the same. FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional viewtaken along the line f—f in FIG. 20A, and FIG. 22 is a cross-sectionalview taken along the line g—g in FIG. 20A. FIG. 23 is an enlarged viewof the essential part A in FIG. 22.

In the aforementioned embodiments S1–S10, the wiring patterns 5 and 9are formed by using ITO. Instead of ITO, a metal layer with goodconductivity such as a layer made of aluminum (Al), an aluminum alloy,silver (Ag), or a silver alloy is employed in this embodiment.

When there is high resistance in an output wiring from a driver IC, itcauses shortage of voltage to be applied to transparent common electrodegroup 4 and transparent segment electrode group 10 in display area 3,which makes it impossible to obtain a stable display. Therefore, in thisembodiment, wiring patterns are formed by using a metal layer havingresistance lower than that of ITO.

In FIG. 20A, a case where wiring patterns 5, 9 are formed using aluminum(Al) is shown. The wiring patterns are hatched in FIG. 20A.

As shown in FIG. 22, the wiring pattern 9 made of Al is formed on theglass substrate 1 between the display area 3 and the sealing resin 7. Ina region on the glass substrate 2 opposite to the wiring pattern 9, adummy pattern 22 is formed.

Likewise, the wiring pattern 5 made of Al is formed as shown in FIG.20A. In a region on the glass substrate 2 opposite to the wiring pattern5, another dummy pattern 33 is formed.

In the same way as in the previous liquid crystal display device S10,also in this liquid crystal display device S11, the thickness of theliquid crystal 12 could be further uniformized throughout the displayarea 3 by forming dummy patterns.

In addition, by employing a metal with good conductivity for the wiringpatterns 5 and 9, shortage of voltage to be applied to the transparentcommon electrode group 4 and transparent segment electrode group 10 doesnot arise so that a stable display without unevenness could be obtained.

<Twelfth Embodiment (Dummy Pattern, Metal Wiring)>

This embodiment is represented by a liquid crystal display device S12 inwhich the liquid crystal display device S11 is further improved toeliminate display unevenness.

FIG. 24A is a plan view of the liquid crystal display device S12, andFIG. 24B is a right-side view of the same. FIG. 25 is a cross-sectionalview taken from the line h—h in FIG. 24A. FIG. 26 is an enlarged view ofthe essential part B in FIG. 25.

In the previous liquid crystal display device S11, as shown in FIG. 22,the wiring pattern 9 made of Al is provided so as to be connected toboth of the edges of the segment-side terminal group 8 and transparentsegment electrode group 10. The wiring pattern 9 overlaps the edges ofsegment-side terminal group 8 and transparent segment electrode group10.

For this reason, the wiring pattern 9 has an irregular shape. Since thedummy pattern 22 opposed to this wiring pattern 9 has a flat surface asshown in FIG. 23, the liquid crystal in this portion does not have aneven thickness. Accordingly, spacers 45 are prone to be caught in thisportion causing display unevenness to occur in the liquid crystaldisplay device for which a highly fine and precise display is required.

In the liquid crystal display device S12 of this embodiment, as shown inFIGS. 25, 26, a dummy pattern 49 with a protruded shape is formed on theglass substrate 2 in a region opposed to the recessed portion of thewiring pattern 9 on the glass substrate 1.

By this arrangement, the device is given a structure suitable for ahighly fine, precise display and capable of further uniformizing thethickness of the liquid crystal 12 throughout the display area 3 ascompared with the liquid crystal display device S2 above.

The description above is for the wiring pattern 9 drawn from thetransparent segment electrode group 10. Regarding the other electrodes,transparent common electrode group 4, a wiring pattern 5 made of Al isprovided so that it overlaps the edge of common-side terminal group 6. Adummy pattern 47 (See FIG. 24A) is formed on the glass substrate 2 so asto correspond to the irregular shape of the wiring pattern 5 on theglass substrate 1. This arrangement makes it possible to furtheruniformize the thickness of the liquid crystal 12 throughout the displayarea 3.

Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to theabove-described embodiments. For example, although the display area isdivided into blocks I and II in this embodiment, the arrangement may besuch that the display area is not divided at all, or the display area isdivided into three or more blocks, or the connection terminal groups 6,8are formed not only on one side portion of the substrate but also onanother side of the substrate in the same manner.

<Thirteenth Embodiment (Prevention of Static Electricity)>

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid crystal display deviceS13. The plan view of this liquid crystal display device is identical tothe one shown in FIG. 1A. FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view taken alongthe line e—e in FIG. 1A.

This liquid crystal display device S13 is characterized in that edges Hof a transparent common electrode group 4 and a wiring pattern 5 arekept within a sealing resin 7 of a conduction portion between thesubstrates Q1.

Usually, the edges of the transparent common electrode group 4 andwiring pattern 5 are extended to the outside of the sealing resin 7 (SeeFIG. 2). In terms of manufacturing, this arrangement is intended toenhance the conductivity between the transparent common electrode group4 and the conduction portion between substrate Q1, thereby improving thereliability.

However, on the other hand, such an arrangement creates portions thatstick out of the sealing resin 7. The gap between the glass substrates1, 2 is about 4–6 μm. When there is static electricity near theperiphery of the liquid crystal display device, the static electricitygets into the transparent common electrode group 4 and wiring pattern 5from the gap between the glass substrates 1, 2. Due to this phenomenon,it is often the case that the driver IC mounted on the glass substrate 1is destroyed by the static electricity.

Contrary to the above case, since the edges H of the transparent commonelectrode group 4 and wiring pattern 5 are disposed within the sealingresin 7 according to this invention, even if there is static electricitynear the periphery of the liquid crystal display device, the staticelectricity is prevented from getting into the transparent commonelectrode group 4 and wiring pattern 5 from the gap between the glasssubstrates 1,2. The driver IC is therefore prevented from destruction bythe static electricity.

FIG. 28 shows a cross section of another liquid crystal display deviceS13-2 according to this embodiment. The plan view of this liquid crystaldisplay device S13-2 is identical to the one shown in FIG. 3A. FIG. 28is a cross-sectional view taken along the line f—f in FIG. 3A.

Also, in this liquid crystal display device S13-2, the edges H of thetransparent common electrode group 4 and wiring pattern 5 are disposedwithin the sealing resin 7. Accordingly, even if there is staticelectricity near the periphery of the liquid crystal display device, thestatic electricity is prevented from getting into the transparent commonelectrode group 4 and wiring pattern 5 from the gap between the glasssubstrates 1,2. The driver IC is therefore prevented from destruction bythe static electricity.

The wiring arrangement for prevention of static electricity describedabove is applicable not only to the liquid crystal display devices shownin FIGS. 1A and 3A, but also to the conduction portions betweensubstrates in each of the devices shown in FIGS. 5A, 6A, 7A, 10A, 13A,16, 17A, 20A, and 24A.

<Fourteenth Embodiment (Display Frame Dummy Pattern)>

A liquid crystal display device is incorporated into a portable terminalor display equipment.

As shown in FIG. 29, the display area 3 of a liquid crystal displaydevice is located in a window frame 33 of the portable terminal ordisplay equipment in which the liquid crystal display device isincorporated.

In the liquid crystal display devices S1–S13 described above, the area35 in which the wiring pattern 5 is routed between the display area 3and the window frame 33 can be seen from the display surface. Becausecolors and visions in this area 35 appear differently from those inother areas, the display is hard to reach a stable state within thiswindow frame 33.

Accordingly, the configuration of the area 35 for routing the wiringpattern 5 affects the exterior design of the product so that theoriginal exterior design is subject to changes.

Now, a liquid crystal display device S14 in which homogeneity in colorand texture is realized in the area between the display area 3 and thewindow frame 33 is described.

FIG. 30A is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device S14, and FIG.30B is a right-side view of the same. FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional viewtaken along the line a—a in FIG. 30A.

The liquid crystal display device S14 according to this invention ischaracterized by a dummy pattern for the display window frame to improvethe image display performance, which is hereinafter described in detail.

In areas between the display area 3 and the sealing resin 7 on the glasssubstrate 1 and other than the areas in which the wiring pattern 5 isprovided, dummy patterns for display frame 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 areformed in the manner of covering the window frame of the device 33. Inthis embodiment, each of these patterns is formed on the glass substrate1 using aluminum (Al) or an alloy thereof.

In FIG. 30A, the dummy pattern 21 is formed in the upper left area ofthe display area 3, above the wiring pattern 5B, and the dummy patterns22, 23 are formed in the upper area of the display area 3.

The dummy patters 18, 19, 20 are formed in the lower area of the displayarea 3 where the wiring patterns 5,9 are not present.

In the liquid crystal display device S14 according to this invention,because of the configuration of the routing area 36 formed by the wiringpatterns 5, 9 formed of a metal film such as Al and the dummy patternsfor display frame 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 shown in FIG. 32, the color andtexture appear in a uniform condition in any of the areas between thedisplay area 3 and the window frame of the device 33.

Accordingly, the wiring patterns of the liquid crystal display devicewill not adversely effect the external design of the device.

Now, other liquid crystal display devices S14-2 and S14-3 are describedreferring to FIGS. 33A, 33B, 34A and 34B.

FIG. 33A is a plan view of the liquid crystal display device S14-2, andFIG. 33B is a right-side view of the same. The numerical values in FIG.33A are indicated in mm. In FIG. 33B, the numeral 34 denotes the displaysurface of a glass substrate 1.

Within a sealing resin 7 on the glass substrate 1, there are providedwiring patterns 5,9, and dummy patterns for display frame 18, 19, 20,21, 22, 23, each of which is made of Al or the like.

The spacing S for the wiring patterns 5, 9 and the spacing S for thedummy patterns for display frame are preferably almost the samedistance. For example, as shown in FIG. 33A, when the spacing S for thewiring patterns 5, 9 is 0.01 mm, then the spacing S for the dummypatterns for display frame should be 0.01 mm.

When the spacing S for the dummy patterns for display frame is 0.02 mm,the configuration of the patterns are partially viewed from the displaysurface, but it is in a degree not inconveniencing practical use.However, when the spacing S for the dummy patterns for display frame isas great as 0.03 mm, the difference in display appearance between thewiring pattern area and other areas becomes noticeable, although it isin a degree not causing inconvenience for practical use.

Preferably, the spacing S for the wiring patterns 5, 9 and the spacing Sfor the dummy patterns for display frame are both as small as possibleso that differences in display appearance caused by local differences inpattern configuration are small, providing an uniform displayappearance.

According to the present invention, each of the both spacings S is 0.02mm or less, preferably, 0.015 mm or less, and optimally, it is 0.01 mmor less.

An explanation is now given to a liquid crystal display device S14-3shown in FIGS. 34A, 34B.

In this liquid crystal display device S14-3, the (wiring widthD)/(wiring pitch P) of wires that vertically or obliquely extend in thewiring pattern 5 is0.02 mm/0.03 mm=0.666and the (wiring width D)/(wiring pitch P) of wires that horizontallyextend in the wiring pattern 5 is0.15 mm/0.24 mm=0.625

In the dummy patterns for display frame, the (dummy wiring widthD)/(dummy wiring pitch P) of wires that vertically or obliquely extendis0.02 mm/0.03 mm=0.666and the (dummy wiring width D)/(dummy wiring pitch P) of wires thathorizontally extend is0.15 mm/0.24 mm=0.625

When there are several wiring widths D and wiring pitches P in a liquidcrystal display device as this case, by making the wiring pattern ratioi.e. (wiring width D)/(wiring pitch P) and the dummy pattern ratio i.e.(dummy wiring width D)/(dummy wiring pitch P) as identical as possible,differences in display appearance caused by local differences in patternconfiguration become small so that the display appearance becomesuniform.

The present inventors fabricated three types of liquid crystal displaydevices having wiring pattern ratios A, A′ and dummy pattern ratios B,B′ as shown in Table 4. The greatest difference among the ratios wasfound for each of the devices, and the display appearance was evaluatedfor each of them. The results shown in Table 4 were obtained.

TABLE 4 1 2 3 Wiring 0.666 0.666 0.666 pattern ratio (A) Wiring 0.6250.500 0.416 pattern ratio (A′) Dummy pattern 0.666 0.666 0.666 ratio (B)Dummy pattern 0.625 0.500 0.416 ratio (B′) Largest 0.041 0.166 0.250difference among the ratios Evenness in ◯ Δ X display appearance

The device in which excellent appearance in terms of display frame wasobtained is marked by ◯, and the device in which the patternconfiguration was partially observed in a degree not inconveniencingpractical use is marked by Δ. The device marked by X is one in which thepattern configuration was noticeably observed, although it is in adegree not inconveniencing practical use.

According to the experiments that the present inventors repeatedlycarried out, the preferred scattering range of (wiring width D)/(wiringpitch P) ratios was within ±0.2, and more desirably, within ±0.1 forboth the wiring patterns and dummy patterns.

In addition, it is preferable that the pattern configurations of boththe wiring patterns and dummy patterns are the same or similar, and that(dummy wiring width D)/(dummy wiring pitch P) is within ±0.2 range, ormore desirably, within ±0.1 range of the mean distribution value(Maximum value +Minimum value/2) of (wiring width D)/(wiring pitch P).

Meanwhile, the present invention is not limited to the above-describedembodiments. For example, instead of forming the dummy patterns fordisplay frame on the glass substrate 1 as in the above embodiments,dummy patterns for display frame may be formed on the other glasssubstrate 2 opposite to the glass substrate 1.

In addition, instead of using aluminum (Al) or an aluminum alloy forforming the wiring patterns and dummy patters for display frame, othermetal materials such as silver (Ag), titanium (Ti) and alloys thereofmay also be used for that purpose.

<Fifteenth Embodiment (Insulating Film)>

In a liquid crystal display device, as shown in FIG. 35, it ispreferable to form an insulating film 18 on the transparent segmentelectrode group 10 and the wiring pattern 5 on the glass substrate 1.The insulating film is formed so as to cover a display area 3 and areasaround it.

Now, this is further discussed. FIG. 36 shows a conventional structurein which the insulating film 18 is not formed on the transparent segmentelectrode group 10 and wiring pattern 5. In the case of a device lackingthe insulating film 18, if a foreign object 40 having conductivity ispresent between glass substrates 1, 2, it breaks alignment films 37, 38,and through the broken portion, short-circuit occurs between thetransparent common electrode group 4 and transparent segment electrodegroup 10.

Contrary to this case, in the liquid crystal display device shown inFIG. 35, application of the insulating film 18 prevents suchshort-circuit between substrates.

However, the insulating film 18 has been formed only on the areas insidethe sealing resin 7 shaped as a rectangular frame. That is, there hasbeen no insulating film 18 formed on the regions where wiring patterns5, 9 pass immediately below the sealing resin 7. For that reason, therehas been a problem that the wiring pattern 5 and the wiring pattern 9short-circuit through conductive particles 30 in the sealing resin 7.

A liquid crystal display device S15 according to this embodiment isprovided to solve this problem.

FIG. 37A is a plan view of the liquid crystal display device S15, andFIG. 37B is a right-side view of the same. In this liquid crystaldisplay device S15, the configurations of the insulating film 18 and thewiring patterns 5, 9 are different from those in the liquid crystaldevice S3 in FIG. 5A.

Hereinafter, mainly the components that differ in structure from thoseof the liquid crystal display device S3 in FIG. 5A are described.

External to the display area 3, the sealing resin 7 containingconductive particles is provided so as to surround the display area 3.Glass substrates 1 and 2 are bonded together with the sealing resin 7,and the internal space between them is filled with the liquid crystal 12by injecting it through the injection inlet 13. Then, it is sealed withthe resin 11.

In the lower area of the glass substrate 1 and outside the lower side ofthe sealing resin 7, the common-side terminal group 6 and segment-sideterminal group 8 are juxtaposed to each other. These common-sideterminal group 6 and segment-side terminal group 8 are connected to thedriver IC 15 by using an anisotropic conductive film or the like. Thereference characters Q3, Q4 denote conduction portions betweensubstrates.

Wiring patterns 5, 9 are arranged in the manner of oblique lines throughthe lower side of the sealing resin 7. These wiring patterns 5, 9 areconnected to the common-side terminal group 6 and segment-side terminalgroup 8, respectively.

Since the wiring patterns 5, 9 passing through the sealing resin 7 arearranged obliquely to the direction in which the sealing resin 7extends, it is possible to reduce the area for mounting the driver IC15, thereby downsizing the liquid crystal display device itself.

The insulating film 18 is made of silicon oxide SiO_(x), silicon nitrideSiN_(x), TiO_(x), ZrO₂, Al₂O₃, Ta₂O₅, Nb₂O₅, Nb₂O3, or the like. Theinsulating film 18 is formed so as to cover the display area 3 and areasaround it.

The insulating film 18 is extended to the lower side of the sealingresin 7 shaped as a rectangular frame.

FIG. 38 is an enlarged plan view showing the positional relationshipbetween the wiring pattern 5, insulating film 18 and sealing resin 7,which is a view enlarging the part g in FIG. 37A. FIG. 39 is across-sectional view taken along the line h—h in FIG. 38.

The arrangement is such that the sealing resin 7 is provided on thewiring patterns 5, 9 via the insulating film 18.

By arranging the wiring patterns 5, 9 obliquely to the direction inwhich the sealing resin 7 extends, the spacing S for the wiring patterns5, 9 is reduced.

Without the insulating film 18, the conductive particles 30 in thesealing resin 7 connect to one another, causing short-circuit to occuramong the wires in the wiring pattern 5 and wiring pattern 9.

However, in this embodiment, because of the interposition of theinsulating film 18, short-circuit does not occur among the wires in thewiring pattern 5 and wiring pattern 9, even when the conductiveparticles 30 in the sealing resin 7 connect to one another.

Now, another liquid crystal display device according to this invention,S15-2 shown in FIGS. 40A, 40B is described.

In the liquid crystal display device S15 in FIG. 37, the insulating film18 is extended to the sealing resin 7 in the lower side. In such a case,the sealing resin 7 shaped as a rectangular frame has portions in whichthe insulating film 18 is provided and portions in which the insulatingfilm 18 is not provided. This causes the thickness to be uneven over thewhole sealing resin 7, sometimes failing to give the layer of liquidcrystal 12 a uniform thickness.

Therefore, in order to improve such a problem, the insulating film 18 inthe liquid crystal display device S15-2 is extended to the four sides ofthe sealing resin 7, except for the areas beneath the conductionportions between substrates Q3, Q4.

The most part of the sealing resin 7 is thus provided with theinsulating film 18, which makes unevenness in thickness small or nilover the whole sealing resin 7. As a result, a uniform thickness of theliquid crystal 12 can be obtained.

<Sixteenth Embodiment (Light-reflective Electrode)>

According to this embodiment, a segment electrode group 10 is formed byusing a light reflective material, thereby producing a reflective-typeor transflective-type liquid crystal display device S16.

The transparent segment electrode group 10 has a structure in which atransparent conductive film made of ITO or the like and a lightreflective layer made of a light reflective material are laminatedtogether.

As the light reflective material, there are such metals as aluminum(Al), aluminum alloys, silver (Ag) and silver alloys.

When aluminum (Al) is used as the light reflective material, thestructure is preferably a laminated ITO/Cr/Al structure so as to enhancethe adhesion with ITO. In this case, the Cr/Al laminated layer serves asthe metal light reflective film.

A reflective-type and transflective-type liquid crystal display devicesS16 having segment electrode group 10 with the laminated structure aboveare hereinafter discussed by the descriptions (a) and (b) below.

(a) Reflective-type liquid crystal display device

In the case of a reflective-type liquid crystal display device, theentire segment electrode group 10 is arranged to have the ITO/Cr/Allaminated structure so that the segment electrode group 10 serves asreflecting electrode, thereby realizing a reflective-type liquid crystaldisplay device.

In order to make this device completely reflective, the Al film isformed with a thickness of 800 Å or more, or more desirably, 1000 Å ormore.

The Cr layer is formed to enhance the adhesion between ITO and Al films,and the thickness of such a Cr layer may be 300–500 Å. Alternatively, aCr layer may be formed in order to enhance the adhesion with SiO₂ on theglass substrate.

(b) Transflective-type liquid crystal display device

In the case of a transflective-type liquid crystal display device, thesegment electrode group 10 is formed such that it is divided at everypixel into a reflecting area (reflecting electrode) with the ITO/Cr/Allaminated structure, and a transparent area (transparent electrode) witha single ITO structure, in which the Cr/Al portion within each pixel isremoved. The segment electrode group 10 is thus formed with reflectingareas and transparent areas, thereby realizing a transflective-typeliquid crystal display device.

Meanwhile, the ratio between the area of the reflective area and that ofthe transparent area within one pixel may be selected according to thedesired characteristics in terms of reflectivity and transparency.Examples of the arrangement of the reflecting area and transparent areawithin one pixel are shown in FIGS. 41A, 41B. FIG. 41A shows an examplewith the reflecting area larger than the transparent area, and FIG. 41Bshows an example with the transparent area larger than the reflectingarea. The borderlines between the reflecting area and the transparentarea are arranged in a direction horizontally crossing the segmentelectrode.

FIGS. 42A, 42B show other examples of the arrangement of the reflectingarea and the transparent area within one pixel. In FIG. 42A, arectangularly shaped reflecting area is formed inside the transparentarea. In FIG. 42B, a rectangularly shaped transparent area is formedinside the reflecting area.

FIGS. 43A, 43B show other examples of the arrangement of the reflectingarea and transparent area within one pixel. FIG. 43A shows an examplewith the reflecting area larger than the transparent area, while FIG.43B shows an example with the transparent area larger than thereflecting area. The borderlines between the reflecting area andtransparent area are arranged in a direction vertically crossing thesegment electrode.

Meanwhile, the arrangement of the reflecting area and transparent areais not limited to the arrangements in the above-discussed examples.

The production process for the liquid crystal display device S16 in (a)and (b) above is as follows. A case where Cr and Al are used as themetal material is described here, but it is not limited to those metals.

(Process 1) ITO is formed on the whole surface of a glass substrate.Through the processes of resist application, exposure, and etching,transparent electrodes with a predetermined pattern is formed on adisplay area 3.

(Process 2) Over the entire pattern, Cr, Al films are formed. Forthicknesses of these films, the aforementioned thicknesses are adopted.

(Process 3) The applied Cr, Al films are formed into predeterminedpatterns by etching. At this stage, wiring patterns 5, 9 are formed in aCr/Al two-layer structure.

In the segment electrode group 10, areas having an ITO/Cr/Al three-layerstructure and areas having a single ITO layer structure are formed. Theareas having a single ITO layer can be formed by removing Al and Cr byetching.

Through the manufacturing processes described so far, a structure inwhich the wiring patterns are formed of metal layers and the segmentelectrode group in the display area is formed of ITO and metal layers isrealized.

According to this production process, when the metal layers are formedinto the wiring patterns, the segment electrode group in the displayarea can be formed simultaneously. Therefore, it does not cause themanufacturing processes to increase.

<Seventeenth Embodiment (Transflective Type Liquid Crystal DisplayDevice>

An example in which a transflective type liquid crystal display device Sof this invention is incorporated in display equipment is now describedreferring to FIG. 44.

A retardation film 59 made of polycarbonate or the like and a polarizingfilm 60 made of iodine-based material are successively stacked on theouter surface of a transparent substrate 58 made of glass or the like,and are attached thereto with an adhesive composed of acryl-basedmaterial. A retardation film 62 made of polycarbonate or the like and apolarizing film 63 made of iodine-based material are successivelystacked on the outer surface of a transparent substrate 61 made of glassor the like, and are bonded together with an adhesive composed of anacryl-based material.

Furthermore, a backlight 64 is provided under the polarizing film 63.The backlight 64 comprises a light-guiding plate 65, and a light source66 such as cold cathode fluorescent tube or LED provided at one endportion of the light-guiding plate 65. Light from the light source 66 isintroduced in the light-guiding plate 65 where it is diffused to bedirected to the liquid crystal panel.

Segment electrodes 67 and an alignment film (not shown) made ofpolyimide that has been rubbed in one direction are successively formedon the inner surface of the transparent substrate 58. Incidentally, itis also possible to interpose an insulating film made of SiO₂ or thelike between the segment electrodes 67 and the alignment film.

On the upper surface of the transparent substrate 61, a transflectivefilm 68 is formed, on which a color filter 69 is provided. It is alsopossible to form a thin film made of metal such as aluminum or chromium,or a black matrix, which is a light-shielding film formed by using aphotoresist.

It is possible to form a light-shielding film J simultaneously with theformation of the light-shielding film made of a thin metal film orphotoresist. Since this light-shielding film can be formed bysputtering, vacuum deposition, or a photolithography method after resistapplication simultaneously with the formation of the color filter, noadditional manufacturing process is necessary. The manufacturing costcan therefore be reduced.

An overcoat layer 70 formed of SiO₂ or resin is applied over the colorfilter 69, on which, common electrodes 71 and an alignment film made ofpolyimide (not shown) that has been rubbed in one direction aresuccessively formed. The common electrodes 71 are arranged perpendicularto the segment electrodes 67. It is also possible to interpose aninsulating layer formed of SiO₂ or the like between the commonelectrodes 71 and the alignment film.

The transflective film 68 may be a thin film made of a metal such asaluminum, chromium, a SUS alloy, an aluminum alloy, a silver alloy, orthe like.

The transflective film 68 has both reflectivity and transparency andprevents phase difference from occurring when interposed between the twopolarizing films. The surface of the transflective film 68 may havespecularity or smoothness, or diffusivity or irregularity. In order toform a diffusive transflective film 68, an irregular film is formedusing resin and a transflective film is formed thereon.

The color filter 69 above is formed such that a photoresist that hasbeen preliminarily prepared with pigments (red, green, blue) dispersedtherein is applied to the substrate, and then photolithography isperformed.

The transparent substrates 58, 61 that have been prepared in the abovemanner are bonded together by sealing resin 73 with liquid crystal 12made of, for example, a chiral nematic liquid crystal that has beentwisted 200–270 degrees of angle interposed therebetween. Furthermore,between the both transparent substrates 58, 61, a large number ofspacers 74 for keeping the thickness of the liquid crystal 12 uniformare provided.

The liquid crystal display device S provided with the transflective film68 in the above manner may be used in either a reflective-type mode ortransparent-type mode.

When it is used in a reflective-type mode, irradiating light from anexternal light source such as the sun or a fluorescent lamp passesthrough the polarizing film 60, retardation film 59, and liquid crystal12 sequentially, while the light incident on the inside of the liquidcrystal 12 penetrates the color filter 69 to reach the transflectivefilm 68. Then, the light is reflected from the transflective film 68,again passes through the liquid crystal 12, retardation film 59, andpolarizing film 60 to be emitted.

On the other hand, when it is used in a transparent-type mode,irradiating light from the backlight 64 passes through the polarizingfilm 63, retardation film 62, and the transparent substrate 61sequentially, then it passes through the transflective film 68,penetrates the color filter 69, and passes through the liquid crystal12, retardation film 59, and polarizing film 60 to be emitted.

Because of the transflective film 68 formed on the transparent substrate61, the reflectance is enhanced especially in the reflective mode,providing the display with higher brightness. High contrast can beobtained in the transparent mode. Therefore, the display quality can beenhanced as high as a degree that satisfies the functions of both thereflective mode and transparent mode. The panel used in the reflectivemode can be used in the transparent mode as well with the conditionsbeing unchanged. The color display is clear and stable in both thereflective mode and transparent mode.

In addition, when the transflective film 68 is formed on the innersurface of the transparent substrate 61, light does not pass through thetransparent substrate 61 in the reflective mode. Because of this, thephenomenon of double image appearance caused by the transparentsubstrate 61 does not occur. Moreover, since the incident light andreflected light both pass through the same pixels, deterioration inbrightness and color purity is prevented. As the thickness of thetransflective film 68 increases, the light transmittance becomes smallerand the light reflectivity becomes larger. The thickness of thetransflective film 68 is determined based upon the difference in lightabsorption coefficient among metals and the mode that is selectedbetween the reflective mode and transparent mode for improvement ofperformance.

Normally, the thickness of the transflective film 68 is 50–500 Å, andpreferably, it is 100–400 Å, which gives the characteristics of atransflective-type: a reflectance of 30–70% and a transmittance of5–50%.

For example, when the transflective film 68 is formed of an aluminumthin film with a thickness of 250 Å, the reflectance is 65% and thetransmittance is 15%.

When the liquid crystal display device S has a transflective film 68with specularity, a light-diffusive sheet member may be further formedbetween the transparent substrate 58 and retardation film 59 in theliquid crystal panel.

One example of this light-diffusing sheet member is IDS (InternalDiffusing Sheet) produced by DAI NIPPON PRINTING CO., LTD. This sheet ismade of resin in which beads and the like are contained. Alternatively,a flat sheet whose surface is formed with irregularity that scatterslight may be used.

By providing such a light-diffusing sheet between the transparentsubstrate 58 and retardation film 59, in a reflective mode, lightreflected by the transflective film 68 is scattered in directions otherthan the specular reflection direction by the light-diffusing sheet.This widens the viewing angle on the display, enlarging the viewablearea thereof.

Meanwhile, the liquid crystal display device S above is realized as atransflective-type liquid crystal display device by providing thetransflective film 68 therein. However, alternatively, it is alsopossible to provide a reflective film made of a metal such as aluminum,silver, an aluminum alloy or silver alloy so as to make the liquidcrystal display device a reflective type.

The liquid crystal display device S above may be arranged such that thesegment electrode 67 is formed of ITO and metal layers (See FIGS.41–43). For the metal layer, a metal material with good conductivitysuch as aluminum, an aluminum alloy, silver (Ag) or a silver alloy maybe used. An Al—Cr alloy may be used as the aluminum alloy. The thicknessof the Al metal layer in the reflective area may be selected between 800Å and 1500 Å, taking the uniformity of the gap between the substratesinto consideration.

By employing metal films for forming both the segment electrode group(ITO/Cr/Al) and wiring patterns, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

<Eighteenth Embodiment (Portable Terminal)>

A mobile phone 79 provided with the liquid crystal display device Saccording to this invention is shown in FIG. 45.

In this mobile phone 79, the liquid crystal display device S is providedwithin a small size case 75. An antenna 76 for transmission/reception isprovided at an upper part of the case 75. In addition, a receiver 77 anda microphone 78 are provided on the front surface.

A portable terminal 81 in which the liquid crystal display device S isprovided within a small size case 80 is shown in FIG. 46. This portableterminal 81 is used for various purposes other than mobile phone 79. Theapplications are, for example, watches, calculators, game machines,pedometers, GPS, POS, handy terminals, industrial instruments and so on,but not limited to these examples.

By using the downsized liquid crystal display device S in these mobilephone 79 and portable terminal 81, the devices can be downsized as awhole.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments discussed above,but various modifications and improvements may be made without departingfrom the scope of the invention. For instance, a STN passive matrix-typecolor liquid crystal display device has been used in the aforementionedembodiments, like functions and effects can be obtained when it is abistable nematic passive matrix-type liquid crystal display device, aSTN passive matrix-type monochrome liquid crystal display device, or aTN passive matrix-type liquid crystal display device.

Also, a portable terminal has been taken as an embodiment of the deviceprovided with the liquid crystal display device according to thisinvention, the liquid crystal display device S may be used as thedisplay device for other display equipment. For example, it may be usedas a display panel in devices such as sewing machines, stereos, musicalinstruments, videos, ATMs, duplicators, facsimiles, and for displayequipment in stations, restaurants and factories.

1. A liquid crystal display device comprising: a first substrate havinga segment electrode group and an insulating film formed thereon; asecond substrate having a common electrode group formed thereon; aframe-shaped seal member for joining the fist and second substratestogether; a liquid crystal layer filled between the first and secondsubstrates and inside the seal member; a display area provided in anarea where the segment electrode group and the common electrode groupare opposed to each other; a connection terminal group for segmentelectrode and a connection terminal group for common electrode which areformed on the first substrate and external to one side portion of theseal member; a wiring pattern formed on the first substrate such that itextends from the connection terminal group for common electrode andpasses through an area between another side portion of the seal memberand the display area; and a conduction portion between substrates whichis disposed within another side portion of the seal member or betweenanother side portion of the seal member and the display area forelectrically connecting the wiring pattern and the common electrodegroup to each other, wherein the seal member contains numerousconductive particles, and the insulating film is extended to one sideportion of the seal member.
 2. The liquid crystal display deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the wiring pattern is passed through oneside portion of the seal member and arranged in an array of obliquelines.
 3. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1,wherein a wiring pattern extending from the segment electrode group ispassed through one side portion of the seal member and arranged in anarray of oblique lines.
 4. The liquid crystal display device accordingto claim 1, wherein the insulating film is further extended to anotherside portion of the seal member.
 5. A portable terminal comprising theliquid crystal display device of claim 1 provided therein.
 6. Displayequipment comprising the liquid crystal display device of claim 1provided therein.
 7. The liquid crystal display device according toclaim 1, wherein alignment films are respectively formed on boundarysurface between the first substrate and the liquid crystal layer and onboundary surface between the second substrate and the liquid crystallayer.
 8. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 7,wherein the alignment film is not formed on a portion where theconduction portion between substrates is disposed.
 9. The liquid crystaldisplay device according to claim 1, wherein the frame-shaped sealmember is provided with an injection inlet for injecting liquid crystal.10. A liquid crystal display device comprising: a first substrate havinga segment electrode group and an insulating film formed thereon; asecond substrate having a common electrode group formed thereon; aframe-shaped seal member for joining the first and second substratestogether, the seal member having an injection inlet for injecting liquidcrystal; a liquid crystal layer filled between the first and secondsubstrates and inside the seal member; a display area provided in anarea where the segment electrode group and the common electrode groupare opposed to each other; a connection terminal group for segmentelectrode and a connection terminal group for common electrode which areformed on the first substrate and external to one side portion of theseal member; a wiring pattern formed on the first substrate such that itextends from the connection terminal group for common electrode andpasses through an area between another side portion of the seal memberand the display area; and a conduction portion between substrates whichis disposed within another side portion of the seal member or betweenanother side portion of the seal member and the display area forelectrically connecting the wiring pattern and the common electrodegroup to each other, wherein the seal member contains numerousconductive particles, and the insulating film is extended to one sideportion and/or to another side portion of the seal member.